Consumers spent a record amount on food last year. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. New data from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) shows consumer spending on food reached a record in 2022. Real, or inflation-adjusted, annual food spending in the United States increased steadily from 1997 to 2022, except in 2008 and 2009 during the Great Recession …
USDA: Adult Obesity Increased During Pandemic
An additional effect on our health from the pandemic. That’s today’s This Land of Ours. USDA’s Economic Research Service reports behavior changes during the pandemic exacerbated an already existing adult obesity epidemic. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in 2020, studies using limited online surveys found evidence of weight gain among U.S. adults. However, because the pandemic surveys did not represent …
The Potential Effects of Increased Demand for U.S. Agricultural Exports on Metro and Nonmetro Employment
by Steven Zahniser, Tom Hertz, Peter Dixon, and Maureen Rimmer, Economic Research Service What Is the Issue? ERS estimates that U.S. agricultural exports supported about 1.1 million full-time, civilian jobs in 2015. Yet, the economic linkages between U.S. agricultural exports and rural employment are not fully understood, particularly in the metro and nonmetro regions of each State and among production …
40 Percent of Farms Managed by Multiple Operators
New data released last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows nearly 40 percent of all U.S. farms are managed by more than one operator. USDA’s Economic Research Service says in 2015, 39 percent of the more than 800,000 U.S. farms had secondary operators. Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Enhancement Board Provides Funding For Quicker Response to Research QuestionsApril 10, 2026Florida …